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Issue Details: First known date: 2016... 2016 Signed, Sealed, Delivered : From Women of Letters
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The beautiful art of letter writing is still the best way to connect, to express a thought or a feeling. In this all-new anthology, Australia’s queens of correspondence Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire have engaged our finest, sharpest minds to pen missives of courage and humour and wisdom. Collected from the hugely popular live Women of Letters salons,Signed, Sealed, Delivered gives an entertaining and heartfelt insight into some of our brightest Australian stars.

'All royalties for this book will go to Edgar's Mission animal rescue shelter.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  •  Only literary material by Australian authors individually indexed. Other material in this issue includes:

    Rachael King 

    Deidra Tarrant

    Kate Camp

    Suzy Cato

Contents

* Contents derived from the Docklands, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,:Viking , 2016 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Lisa Dempster, Lisa Dempster , single work correspondence

'In my late twenties I was overwhelmed with depression. I drank a lot, pulled away from friends, spent way too much time alone, couldn't find a job and eventually found myself on the dole and unable to take care of myself. My world shrank and shrank and I started thinking about ways to end it all. ' (Introduction)

(p. 3-8)
Max Sharam, Max Sharam , single work correspondence

'Dear old age, 
'I would like to thank you for quietly pushing that envelope under my door recently — with an open-ended invitation to a future meet-up. Now that you've made your introduction — by becoming a presence I can no longer ignore, and, now aware of the privilege of living, I value that you even considered making contact with me — I would love nothing more than for us to spend some quality time together. ' (Introduction)

(p. 9-14)
Fabian Dattneri"Shhhhhh", Fabian Dattner , single work poetry (p. 15-21)
Maria Tumarkin, Maria Tumarkin , single work correspondence

'Dear Rude Awakening, hello. 
'I realise now you came to me three times. Pint, you were a Musician. People would get under each other's skin to your music. Love songs. Set in half-forgotten cities that lay, like camels, in sand and dust. With retired coronets left behind by history. A god-shaped hole or a hole-shaped god. Love songs, but not how-deep-is-your-love love songs. One day, not in Australia mercifully, you became a star. Now hundreds of thousands of people were falling for each other, fucking, feeling their hearts beat and bind to your songs. And somehow in this ascent of yours, which felt, yes, almost inevitable, your very modest capacity for love and friendship, the unfeelingness of your heart, the scale of your self-involvement, never entered the frame. ' (Introduction)

(p. 22-27)
Jean Kittson, Jean Kittson , single work correspondence

'My darling daughters, 
'There have been so many rude awakenings in my life that I would love co spare you even a couple of them. I want to tell you about some of the things that my mother never told me.' (Introduction)

(p. 28-)
Gillian Armstrong, Gillian Armstrong , single work correspondence

'Dear Orry, 
You don't know me. I was only fourteen and still at Vermont High School in Melbourne when you died, too young, of liver cancer, in February 1964, at Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, with your bestie Ann Warner by your side. ' (Introduction)

(p. 43-53)
Monique Brumby, Monique Brumby , single work correspondence

'Dear Happy Accident, 
'When you've decided to show up in my life you have been so very hard to deal with. Often you don't seem happy. Instead, you are set on causing panic and you come across as scared and uneasy. So, in light of this, I'm going to refer to you simply as 'Dent' because you always leave your mark or scar on me. You have an uncanny knack of turning my world upside down in a moment, but then you somehow make me like you because of it. You reveal yourself to me in many guises but I'm onto you, and this letter is to prove it. ' (Introduction)

(p. 54-64)
Lally Katz, Lally Katz , single work correspondence

'Dear Golden Years, 
'As a child growing up in Miami, Florida, I had golden blonde hair. No one knew where I'd got it from. My dad had black hair and my mum's hair was dark brown. There was no other natural blonde on either side of my family. ' (Introduction)

(p. 65-72)
Gillian Triggs, Gillian Triggs , single work correspondence

Looking back, I seem to have thanked so many people throughout my life, sometimes obsequiously to ensure good favour, sometimes gen-uinely gratefully. But is there someone I should thank whom I have missed? I have a lurking dread that I have ignored a job well done, failed to respond to a kind act, or taken someone for granted.  (Introduction)

(p. 73-76)
Tracy Mann, Tracy Mann , single work correspondence

'Dear mistake, 
'We have lived together now, you and I, for twenty-two years. You lie in the unpickable tapestry of my life. You have a place. Many moments in my life are long faded, fuzzy, difficult to conjure. The moment when I made you, though, dear mistake, remains crystal clear. '  (Introduction)

(p. 77-80)
Em Rusciano, Em Rusciano , single work correspondence

'A LETTER TO MY REAL MUM, MADONNA 
'To my real mother, 
Even though we've never met, your influence has permeated and directed my every move since I became aware that you were, in fact, my mum. When I saw you standing naked except for a pair of sky high stilettos and a cigarette dangling between your crimson lips on your Girlie show tour poster — the day I realised who you truly were — I knew that from afar you would ensure my path in life by setting a sterling example in your own. ' (Introduction)

(p. 81-84)
Veronica Milsom, Veronica Milsom , single work correspondence

'Dear Lainie, 
'I keep a picture of you on my fridge. It's black and white, the first photo I ever processed. Your big, dopey dog smile fills the frame. You were the subject of my first photography assignment. I was starting a new chapter of my life as you were nearing the end of yours. The picture reminds me of how you grew old: heavy, less steady on your feet, your dark eyes cloudy and faded. You were mostly happy, though sometimes I got the feeling you were tired of being an eternal optimist. Maybe your life had become too simple and monotonous. After all, you rarely left the house. ' (Introduction)

(p. 85-89)
Lisa Pryor, Lisa Pryor , single work correspondence

'FOR MY MOTHER-IN-LAW ON MOTHER'S DAY 
'Dear Rosemary, 
'Our first meeting, was not auspicious. I don't know if you even remember it. It was a Saturday morning in Kings Cross, where your son was living at the time. You picked us up on Macleay Street, which was a very different place back in 1998, full of places selling camera film and crocodile skin souvenirs and heroin.'  (Introduction)

(p. 90-92)
A. H. Cayley, A. H. Cayley , single work correspondence

'To you, 
'As you know, I was raised — first, rightly, by my parents and then aggressively by society — to always be polite, often to my own detriment, particularly in relationships. I am the girl who says sorry too much — at least I used to be — and the one who always said thank you, even to people who were rude to me. A shopkeeper would give me a brusque, irritated answer to a question like 'Where can I find this book, please?' and I would walk to the shelf unguided, over-apologetic as I did. 'Sorry! Thank you!' So I thought I was a bit fucked when I was given this topic. There is no one deserving of it who I have not already thanked. '  (Introduction)

(p. 93)
Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb, Leigh Sales , Annabel Crabb , single work correspondence

'Dear Crabb, 
'Recently I've noticed I receive a lot of correspondence addressed to both of us. Invitations, complaints, tweets decrying our hairstyles, even television viewing suggestions. 'You should watch The Katering Show on YouTube,' emailed my friend Ben the other day. 'You and Crabb will love it' Even an Easter picnic invitation arrived with the disclaimer 'Perhaps Annabel might like to come too' It's as if we've morphed into a sister act, perhaps a little more Laverne and Shirley than Thelma and Louise, but a dynamic duo nonetheless. '  (Introduction)

(p. 105-110)
Lindsay McDougall and Jason Whalley, Lindsay McDougall , Jason Whalley , single work correspondence

'To Jay Frenzal, 
'You're sick. Fully. Youse guys are so fully sick. I'm stoked that my mate Mariellen from the Engadine Video shop sold me your Dick. Sandwich and Coughing Up .1 Storm CDs because they're so sick.'   (Introduction)

(p. 111-118)
Bob Ellis and Anne Brooksbank, Bob Ellis , Anne Brooksbank , single work correspondence

'Dear Annie,

'This is too hard. I've written sonnets and songs and speeches to you, but this is too hard. In forty-four years I've not thought of this letter to you, the sort you write before the euthanasia drug kicks in, and it's too hard. On my mind are the ghosts of the children miscarried and the faces of those that survived. We should have started sooner, but then we would never have had the ones we know, just others with their names. But more, but more, for sure. The six or eight we thought of. How incorrect we were. A bigger Christmas dinner. More daughter dramas. More music round the table.'   (Introduction)

(p. 119-125)
Kate Jinx and Zoe Coombs Marr, Kate Jinx , Zoë Coombs Marr , single work correspondence

'Kate:

'Dear Better Half, 
'We'd known each other for years before anything really happened. pd seen you, when I was younger, and thought you were pretty cool. you were bolshie, and funny, but I had other things going on, and you did too. '  (Introduction)

(p. 126-133)
Katie Wighton and Sue Wighton, Katie Wighton , Sue Wighton , single work correspondence

 'Dear Mum, 
'The memories of my childhood are incredibly fond ones. I was lucky enough to be brought up in a house full of love, laughter, music and amazing baked goods. Though a single mother, you were such a happy and relaxed parent: never impatient and always giving of your love, rime, creativity and crazy ideas.'  (Introduction)

(p. 134)
Rosie Batty, Rosie Batty , single work correspondence

'I write to you first of all as Rosie, the little girl that really was once upon a time, over forty-five years ago. The little girl growing up on a farm with two younger brothers and a dad who you loved but just didn't know how to get close to you. The dad who worked hard and read his newspapers but didn't know how to hug you, encourage you or tell you that he loved you. ' (Introduction)

(p. 143-145)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Docklands, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 2016 .
      image of person or book cover 8744580045388842717.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 407p.
      Description: still images
      Note/s:
      • Published November 28, 2016
      ISBN: 9780143783947
Last amended 3 May 2018 11:49:21
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